Effectiveness of egg white in maintaining viability of PDL cells

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare the ability of pasteurized milk and egg white with Hank's Balanced Salt Solution (HBSS) in maintaining the viability of human periodontal ligament (PDL) cells of avulsed teeth. Methods: 45 wisdom teeth and permanent teeth freshly extracted for orthodontic purposes were randomly divided into 9 groups and stored in HBSS, milk, and egg white for 30, 90 and 240 minutes. Following extraction, the teeth were immediately immersed in 10 ml of the media during the above-mentioned periods at room temperature. PDL cells were released using a dispase/collagenase enzymatic digestion procedure. After staining with trypan blue, viable and non-viable cells were counted using a hemocytometer and converted to percentages for statistical comparison (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney test). Results: showed that egg white (82,49% 75,27% 67,96%) had a better preserving effect on cellular viability than milk (80,7% 72,38% 66,65%) or HBSS (79,19% 70,25% 65,26%), especially at 90 minutes with the percentages of viable cells at 75.27%, 72.38% and 70.25% respectively (p< 0.05). In each medium, there was a statistically significant reduction in the percentage of viable cells over time (30, 90 and 240 minutes) (p< 0.05). Conclusions: Egg white is an effective storage medium for avulsed teeth in comparison with milk and HBSS. To improve the post-traumatic viability of teeth's PDL cells, the ideal conserving extra-alveolar duration is within 30 minutes.